A housing association’s research has revealed that 71% of UK adults think the world is facing a large climate emergency.

Delivered by YouGov, Abri’s survey also found that 37% of UK adults feel ‘powerless’ about climate change, while 32% are ‘frustrated’ and 29% feel ‘anxious’.

Meanwhile, 68% of UK adults think that global action to tackle climate change needs to begin immediately but they’re divided over how much personal responsibility they have in helping to tackle it.

The survey also found that 43% believe they have a large personal responsibility, while 46% feel they have little or no personal responsibility.

Of these individuals, 30% said there are too many conflicting opinions about climate change, 26% said they can’t afford to make any changes and 16% said they don’t know where to start.

In the next five years, 41% of UK adults said they’d be willing to reduce how often they eat meat and animal products on a weekly basis to help lower their carbon footprint.

Abri says the research has fuelled its goal to make positive climate action accessible to all and has now enlisted the help of eco-friendly chef, Tom Hunt, and customer representatives to launch its Living Well campaign.

The campaign is focused on providing practical support to Abri customers and showing how sustainable and affordable lifestyles can go hand in hand.

Tom Hunt said: “Eating sustainably is the easiest and most effective way to lower your personal carbon footprint. Making small adjustments such as reducing food waste, buying local-seasonal produce and eating more plants makes a really positive impact.

“Two in five UK adults (41%) said they would be willing to reduce how often they eat meat and animal products on a weekly basis in the next five years to help lower their carbon footprint. Combine this with the fact that more than two thirds (68%) feel that global action to tackle climate change needs to happen immediately, and it provides us with a really positive opportunity to help people make more sustainable dietary choices in an easy and affordable way.

“This isn’t about cutting out meat and dairy completely or adopting a vegan diet. Climate-friendly cuisine is about embracing the wonderful diversity of delicious foods the world has to offer. Making more environmentally-friendly choices with what we eat can be achieved by making subtle, straightforward changes. I’ll be working with Abri in the months ahead to share with its customers and communities what those changes could look like. Hopefully, by the end of the campaign we will have helped a significant number of people make positive changes to what they eat – changes that are easy, healthy, good for the environment and that should hopefully save them money too.”

Rose Bean, Abri’s Executive Director of Assets and Sustainability, said: “We know that food poverty and fuel poverty are very real issues facing many people across the UK right now.  We also know from this research that, while 43% of the nation want to help tackle climate change, another 46% feel they have little or no personal responsibility to do so.

“These people feel confused by conflicting opinions about climate change, they’re concerned about the cost and affordability of living sustainably, and many simply don’t know where to start. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, these are very real barriers to change.

“Our Living Well campaign is focused on providing sensible, realistic suggestions of small changes that we can all make, that improve our sustainability, and can save us money too.

“We’re now responding to our research findings by showing how we can all make subtle and affordable changes to our diet, which is a big contributor to our carbon footprint. This is something that – with the right information and support – is accessible for all of us and an area where we know many people want to make a change.

“As a sector, we are heavily focused on the future of our homes and the way in which new build programmes and retrofitting can support the UK’s journey to net zero carbon.

“We know that living in a safe, warm, and sustainable home supports health and wellbeing, improves life chances, and helps to tackle fuel poverty. This remains our core purpose, but we can also help to positively influence how homes are lived in – not just for the sake of the planet but to improve the lives and wellbeing of our customers.”

Abri’s YouGov research also looked at other issues influencing people’s day-to-day carbon footprint, such as electrical vehicles, home improvements and where ultimate responsibility lies for driving positive climate action.

Rose added: “Undoubtedly, these are testing times for many. The last thing we want to do is to encourage people to adopt a diet that may well be better for the environment but will actually end up costing more. That’s why this campaign, and our work with Tom, is dedicated to helping people make sustainable changes to their diet that will save them money too.”